Wastewater treatment is an ongoing concern for every municipality as well as many industrial facilities. The wastewater emitted from these sources must be treated, tested and returned to the water system in compliance with EPA standards. With increasing population as well as industrial demands on the waste water system, greater attention is being directed at the costs and safety of producing clean water.
Excess ammonia levels in water present health problems for humans as well as animals. Ammonia increases the oxygen demand in the water, leading to a toxic environment for marine life and can reduce the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood in humans. It is therefore very important to remove ammonia from wastewater.
In addition, commercial food services and individual residences produce wastewater solid wastes that must be treated and disposed of in an appropriate manner. A safe way to degrade these types of organic waste quickly and efficiently would be highly desirable.
Water can become contaminated by chemicals through runoff from fields or industrial facilities, as well as accidental releases to the ground or water. Particularly troublesome toxic contaminants include PCB's, TCB's, pesticides, herbicides and the like. A safe, effective way to promote the degradation of these compound in situ would save money, time, and reduce the risk of further contamination.
The success or effectiveness of bioremediation is dependent upon key factors being simultaneously present. First, the presence of microorganisms capable of degrading organics either naturally or by addition. Second, there must be oxygen and water available to permit the microorganisms to be metabolically active. Third, biologically utilizable nitrogen and phosphorous are generally throught to be required to further encourage the microbial population to rapidly metabolize the available organics.
Microorganisms capable of degrading organic (carbon-containing) substances or compounds can be found in almost all natural bodies of water. The exact type of microorganisms present in a given water stream or region may vary greatly yet each has the ability to organic materials. The elemental nutrient requirements of microbes are approximately the same as the microbes' average elemental composition. The carbon, which makes up 48 percent of the microbes' composition, is obtained from the organic compounds, such as sewage or hydrocarbons. However, the remaining elemental materials necessary to grow must be provided from either the organic compounds to be degrades, the surrounding water, or a supplementary source. Potentially, any imbalance in the presence or supply of nutritional requirements or conditions hostile to growth of the microbes can limit or change the microbial growth and, consequently, the degradation of organic compounds in the wastewater.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and composition that promotes the growth of indigenous microbes found in organic wastewater sources. It would be desirable for the method and composition to sustain growth of certain microorganisms that are capable of efficient and thorough degradation of the organic waste to be degraded. It would also be desirable for the method and composition to assist in the microbial metabolism of organic wastes in a way that not only meets the basic biological demands of the microorganisms, but essentially accelerates the growth of the microbial population.